ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: MEDIA COVERAGE OF AGE, GENDER,
AND ETHNICITY IN THE 116TH CONGRESS
Blanca E. Reyes
Thesis Prepared for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
December 2020
APPROVED:
Tracy Everbach, Committee Chair Newly Paul, Committee Member Gwen Nisbett, Committee Member Koji Fuse, Director of Graduate Studies in the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism Andrea Miller, Director of the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism and Dean of the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism Tamara L. Brown, Executive Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School
Reyes, Blanca E. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Media Coverage of Age, Gender, and
Ethnicity in the 116th Congress. Master of Arts (Journalism), December 2020, 55 pp., references,
74 titles.
This study focuses on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. Representative for New York's
14th Congressional District, and how news media portray her based on her gender, age, and ethnicity, which still play essential roles in the political system in the United States. The analysis of previous academic research, newspaper articles from the New York Times and the Washington
Post (June 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) and framing and feminist theories are used to evaluate coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The newspaper stories are examined based on the framing of traits including being the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, being Latina, and being one the most progressive politicians in the Congress. The main objective of this study is to shed light on a topic that at this moment in time is more relevant than ever because the 116th Congress has the highest number of women and women of color in U.S. history. I examine media coverage that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez receives for stereotypical frames, so that, overall, all women running or holding public office may receive unbiased and more balanced media coverage. This study also intends to hold media outlets accountable for the way they portray different candidates because it has a significant influence on the voting population.
Copyright 2020
by
Blanca E. Reyes
ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Tracy Everbach for her mentoring, immense help and encouragement throughout all this time. I am also thankful to Dr. Newly Paul and Dr. Gwen Nisbett for their constructive critique, contribution, and support during this research process. I would also like to thank my son Christopher Reyes, my mother and my friends who are like family for their unconditional love and support. Finally, I want to say thank you to the
Mayborn School of Journalism Faculty and staff for helping me getting knowledge and resources to make this dream a reality. I had the most amazing time at the University of North Texas. Words will never be enough to express my gratitude.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iii
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION...... 1 Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? ...... 4 Research Questions ...... 5
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW: WOMEN POLITICAL CANDIDATES AND FEMALE PUBLIC OFFICIALS IN MEDIA ...... 7
CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...... 20 Framing Theory ...... 20 Feminist Theory ...... 24 Intersectionality Theory ...... 28
CHAPTER 4. METHODOLOGY ...... 31 Thematic Analysis ...... 31 Procedure ...... 32 Data Analysis ...... 33
CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS ...... 37 Age ...... 37 Ethnicity/Race ...... 38 Gender ...... 41 Tone ...... 42
CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION ...... 44 Research Question 1 ...... 44 Research Question 2 ...... 46 Research Question 3 ...... 47 Limitations and Future Studies ...... 49
REFERENCES ...... 50
iv CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION
In July 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency opened an internal
investigation after being informed about some images posted on a secret Facebook page called
“I’m 10-15.” The explicit images included a photo illustration of President Donald Trump sexually
assaulting Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York’s 14th
Congressional District. Another illustration portrayed her “engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant.” The post also included sarcastic comments about the deaths of migrants in custody of the Border Patrol in Weslaco, Texas. At that time, the group had 9,500 members and consisted of current and former Border Patrol agents (Thompson & Lind, 2019, para. 1, 3).
These vile attacks on Ocasio-Cortez demonstrate resistance to women, especially women of color, gaining power in the United States. Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest person ever elected to
Congress and is Latina of Puerto Rican descent. Unquestionably, women have gained ground in politics in recent decades. Furthermore, in the most recent elections, the increase of women in the
House of Representatives and Congress was a victory for diversity (Desilver, 2018, para. 1). One hundred and two women, the highest number in U.S. history, serve in the current House of
Representatives. Thirty-five women, representing more than one-third of those women, were elected for the first time in the 2018 midterm elections (Desilver, 2018, para. 2).
Furthermore, the 116th Congress has the highest number of women ever. One hundred and twenty-six female politicians are currently serving, of which 47 percent of those are women of color. “In addition, a Black woman, a Latina, an Asian Pacific Islander, and a Caribbean American woman serve as Delegates to the House from Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, respectively” (Women of Color in Elective Office, 2019, para. 1). Out of
1 the 535 members of the Congress, 8.8 percent is constituted by women of color (Women of Color
in Elective Office, 2019).
This may seem like an outstanding victory for women in politics and the general female
population. However, previous research shows that media scrutiny is more severe and unfavorable
for female politicians and candidates than for their male counterparts (Ward, 2017, p. 44). Conroy,
Oliver, and Breckenridge (2015) suggest that the main difference is that those female candidates
receive more coverage in superficial topics like their physical appearance and family life than male
candidates. This type of coverage makes women running for office appear less earnest and
trustworthy (p. 3).
In addition to these barriers, the combined effect of ethnicity and gender represents a
prevalent “double disadvantage” for minority women (Ward, 2016, p. 320). Cuklanz (2016)
suggests that there is not enough research how traits such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, or country
of origin intersect with gender to generate certain styles of coverage in politics (p. 4). However, the difference is even more prominent when women are running for executive offices than when they are running for legislative offices. Female politicians at the executive level receive more coverage focused on their appearance, personality, family, and they are even sexually objectified
(Conroy et al., 2015, p. 3). This disparity is based on the traditional association of executive offices with traits more readily attributed to men, such as leadership, competitiveness, and viability (p. 2).
Women politicians are also stereotyped as being more liberal, compassionate, and emotional than men; that is why when female politicians emphasize “feminine” issues like education, health, and unemployment in their agendas, they tend to be more successful and taken more seriously about these issues because they are perceived as women’s areas of expertise
(Norris, 1997, p. 97).
2 Both gender and race are associated with negative stereotypes. Consequently, “the
intersectional experience is greater than the sum of racism and sexism” (Gershon, 2012, p. 107).
Female representatives of color are assumed to have more expertise in matters related to race,
social equality, and poverty.
Consequently, they are less likely to be contacted to discuss “men’s issues,” such as the economy and national security, or to be seen as knowledgeable about these subjects (Gershon,
2012, p. 109).
An additional disadvantage that female politicians and candidates encounter is their wardrobe. Attire is especially problematic when women hold a leadership position or are running for office (Smith et al., 2018, p. 672). Even though their attire may sound like something frivolous, for women politicians, especially if they are young and attractive, clothing represents another barrier to be perceived as competent and intelligent.
Interestingly, some previous studies have shown that the physical appearance of the candidates does not have a significant impact on people when it comes to casting their vote (Hayes,
Lawless, & Baitinger, 2014, p. 1208). Hayes, Lawless, and Baitinger (2014) also propose that in
U.S. elections, candidates’ party affiliation or ideology leanings are more significant for voters than superficial characteristics such as appearance (p. 1209). Due to the existing political atmosphere and the current Congress, which has the highest number of women serving, these issues have become more relevant. In addition, many of these women who have won seats are part of minority groups and do not have incumbency or seniority.
The numerous disadvantages and challenges that have been discussed in this study are what
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th Congressional
District, faces. This research will examine how news media depict Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez–
3 colloquially, and sometimes even affectionally, referred to as AOC--regarding gender, ethnicity,
and age. These characteristics could affect how the public and the other members of Congress
perceive her. Consequently, this study analyzes how the examined stereotypes affect the media
coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who exhibits many of the so-called “negative” traits.
Although in many countries around the world women have been elected to serve in
different levels of their government for decades, in the American system it was not until 2008 that
a female candidate, Hillary Clinton, was considered as for a major party presidential nomination.
Two years later, female candidates for the U.S. Senate and governorships were featured in the primary elections, mainly running for the Republican party. in the 2010 midterm elections a new
record number of female candidates were elected to the Senate (Dunaway et al., 2013).
Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
Born on October 13, 1989, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an educator, who is currently
represents the 14th District of New York, which includes the Bronx and Queens. Ocasio-Cortez
majored in international relations and economics at Boston University. AOC’s first experience in
politics when she worked for the late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy’s office. Following the
financial crisis of 2008 and the death of her father, Ocasio-Cortez started a part-time job as a server
and a bartender to help her family cover household expenses. In 2016, she volunteered to organize
Bernie Sanders’ campaign in the South Bronx. The experience enhanced her abilities as an
electoral organizer and activist, which led her to take office as the 14th Congressional District
representative on January 3, 2019 (Biography, 2019).
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is of Puerto Rican descendance. As a result of her ethnicity, age,
sex, and progressive political platform, she is frequently the target of sensationalist, sexist, and
biased media coverage (Bauder, 2019, para.14-15). The fact that she is a Latina with a progressive
4 political platform and the youngest person to serve in the United States Congress might make her
the target of more cynical and less frequent media coverage on her policies than Caucasian women
or minority men. Thus, a “research that employs a single-axis lens focusing only on gender or race
risks marginalizing the experiences of women of color in this context” (Ward, 2016, p.338). As
Gershon (2012) argues, “it cannot be expected that media’s coverage of minority congresswomen
will mimic that of either their Anglo female or minority male counterparts, but rather the
combination of these identities may lead to significantly different coverage for those
representatives” (p. 107).
Research Questions
This study focuses on Ocasio-Cortez because she has all the characteristics that may be considered disadvantages in the political world, dominated by white men. That is why it is critical to examine how media depict female politicians and especially minority women now more than ever because this group is gaining more access to public offices. For this project, the research questions are the following:
RQ1: Is the media coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez based on personal traits such as gender, age, and ethnicity?
RQ2: What frames does the media use to portray AOC?
RQ3: Has the tone of the media coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez changed from the time she was running for office to this day?
The first chapter of this thesis introduces the 2016 elections, presents who Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez is, and states the thesis’s research questions. The second chapter focuses on the literature review, which includes several academic journals and five books. The books consulted for this study are Women, Media, and Politics, A Seat at the Table, Feminist Theory and Cultural
Studies, Feminist Theory, and In Search of Belonging – Latinas, Media, and Citizenship.
5 The third chapter explains the theories used in this study: feminist theory, framing theory,
and agenda-setting. These models were selected because their principles suit perfectly to this investigation and its research questions. The fourth chapter explains the method employed for this research, which is the thematic analysis. I analyzed articles from The New York Times and The
Washington Post published between June 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019.
The fifth chapter states the findings of the study and how those answers were found. The final chapter focuses on the conclusion and discussion of the study and how those suggestions can be implemented in the current media coverage of AOC to make it less biased and improve the media exposure that female candidates and female officials receive currently.
6 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW: WOMEN POLITICAL CANDIDATES AND
FEMALE PUBLIC OFFICIALS IN MEDIA
Media work as a decisive intermediary between candidates and constituents because people
need the information to make educated political decisions, especially in the days leading up to an
election. Due to several factors such as “limited time, interest and resources, as well as the growing size of the U.S. congressional districts,” a significant percentage of the population merely depends on media to learn about their representatives and candidates (Gershon, 2012, p. 105-106).
While it is a fact that media coverage of female political candidates and female public servers has improved compared with previous years, there are still some notable disparities in the time and quality of the media coverage that women and men politicians receive (Ryan, 2013, p.
13). In 1870, when Victoria Woodhull announced her intentions for participating in the presidential run, the press reported: “She is rather in advance of her time. The public mind is not yet educated to the pitch of universal woman’s rights” (Falk & Kenski, 2016, p. 413). One might think that such
an attitude is something from the past; however, similar comments and observations were made
not long ago. In 1964, a columnist wrote the following about Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s run
for the White House: “There are a number of influential commentators here who believe that
Senator Smith will thank all of her supporters... and say it is flattering to be considered for the high
office... but that she is realistic to know that the country is not quite ready to elect a woman as
President” (Falk & Kenski, 2016, p. 413). Voters and pollsters had a similar reaction in 1999 when
Elizabeth Dole was part of the presidential race, “while most Republicans say the country is ready
to make a woman President, a full third say it is not” (Falk & Kenski, 2016, p. 413). That is why
there is no question that the media can influence people’s vote and whom the constituents support
7 (Ryan, 2013, p. 13-14). However, many nations other than that the United States have elected
women leaders. Still, women make up only about one-fourth of governing roles in the world. “Data from the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), the most reliable worldwide source for media coverage from a gender perspective…women make up 23% of the world’s national parliaments”
(Haraldsson & Wangnerud, 2019, p. 523).
Graber (2006) states that although the widely accepted principle of agenda setting that the
media do not tell people what to think, but inform about important events--the way stories are
presented influence people’s opinion about the issues “under consideration” (p. 231). Sexism in society is reflected but also overemphasized in media. In other words, “media is a good measure of societal sexism but also makes society more sexist than it would be otherwise” (Haraldsson &
Wangnerud, 2019, p. 525). Although the concept of sexism might be subjective for some, the
definition suggested by UNESCO is “supposition, belief or assertion that one sex is superior to the
other, often expressed in the context of traditional stereotyping of social roles on the basis of sex,
with resultant discrimination practiced against members of the supposedly inferior sex”
(Haraldsson & Wangnerud, 2019, p. 525).
According to Conroy, Oliver, Breckenridge-Jackson, and Heldman (2015), sex inequalities are undoubtedly present in media coverage of women in politics. They can be presented as soft sexism, which is the constant mention of the candidate’s appearance and family, or hard sexism, which is explicitly gendered insults. The same study also showed that female candidates are four times more likely to receive media coverage loaded with hard sexism than their male counterparts
(p. 2).
In addition to sexism, female nominees have also suffered from sexual objectification.
When women receive sexually objectifying coverage, they are presented as an objected, or less
8 than a human being. Not being considered as valuable as men, women in politics have yet another barrier to reaching leadership positions (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 3-4) because objectification can cause people to have undesirable evaluations of the objectified person (Smith et al., 2018, p. 682).
“Objectification also occurs when individuals are viewed as if their body is capable of representing them.” (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 4).
Although men are also objectified sometimes, it does not have the same effect as the objectification of women. When individuals or the media objectify a woman, she is perceived as less affectionate, less moral and less competent (Smith et al., 2018, p. 682), which is a double- edged sword because while political women are admired for assuming a progressive role, they risk breaking traditional assumptions of womanhood and jeopardize their portrayal as authentic leaders. In order to aspire to executive offices, the candidates are expected to show more masculine characteristics because those traits are stereotypically associated with male dominance (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 2).
Several studies have demonstrated that the prevalent use of stereotypes among the public is not something from the past. In the book, Is the United States Ready for a Woman President? Is the Pope Protestant? Kennedy (2003) argues that 7 percent of the U.S. population say they would not support a female candidate even if their affiliated party nominates her. The 7 percent is only an estimate because there is the possibility that not all the people surveyed revealed they would not support a woman because of the fear of being judged (Falk & Kenski, 2016, p. 413-414):
If any woman candidate starts out with a seven-point deficit in the popular vote, she will be hard-pressed to overcome that deficit in a close presidential election… The fact that six out of the past thirteen presidential elections were decided by a margin below 7% suggests that the figure is far from insignificant. (Falk & Kenski, 2016, p. 413)
Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that those ideas and biases are still among media members.
Journalists and editors are the ones on the charge of framing the news and how they present the
9 candidates, which has a considerable influence on how the constituents perceive different candidates and legislators (Gershon, 2012, p. 108).
While there has been an improvement in the news coverage for women in politics in the last decades, studies have found clear evidence that “the media exert a powerful influence over the type of political information that reaches voters,” which reveals traditional gender stereotypes that society holds. It is a fact that several domains in society still are influenced by traditional stereotypes. Therefore, it would not be a surprise if voters would use these labels to assign different abilities and capabilities to men and women candidates (Alexander & Anderson, 1993, p. 527).
Thus, when those established norms are broken, the subject is more likely to receive negative coverage (Ryan, 2013, p. 14). This is one way the more negative media coverage for female candidates and female legislators can be explained.
Inequalities in the tone, type, and amount of coverage that women receive have been well- documented in the last two decades. These findings expose that those differences are even more significant for women running for the highest executive office. It represents a real barrier for women trying to get elected because the voter perception is negatively affected by this stereotypical feminine media coverage (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 1).
Banwart, Bystrom, and Robertson (2003) support this discernment, suggesting that even though women and male candidates might receive the same amount of coverage in the media, in some cases, the quality of the coverage is different (p. 659). Gender bias in news coverage tone and news coverage type are well-known phenomena. “Coverage tone is usually described in terms of negative, positive, mixed, or neutral descriptions of a candidate in an article or broadcast”
(Conroy et al., 2015, p. 3).
A study of gubernatorial candidates shows that while female and male candidates had the
10 same amount of coverage, women received less issue-related coverage than men (Banwart et al.,
2003, p. 659). This type of coverage is an imminent barrier for women running for public office
because when articles or broadcast “focus on issues usually have a positive impact on perceptions
of a candidate’s political viability, in that when issue positions are reinforced, readers are reminded
of a candidate’s political relevance and knowledge” (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 3).
Another decisive component for getting recognition is the frequency of news coverage received by a candidate. In other words, the number of articles about them and the mention of their names over the campaign period is critical to connecting with electors. Although some studies suggest that the gender gap may have closed or at least diminishing, “both U.S. and international gender and politics scholarship has repeatedly found that female candidates receive less coverage than their male counterparts” (Ward, 2016, p. 321).
Furthermore, the general public in the U.S--both women and men--tends to think about women as comparatively liberal in social issues. Female political candidates are also seen as more emotional than men. When the media emphasize these stereotypes, voters look for those traits while assessing a candidate’s viability (Norris, 1997, p. 78). Research has shown that female politicians who focus on education reforms, for example, or rigorous enforcement of gender discrimination laws will have more support and credibility than those who might talk about terrorism or the death penalty, which are seen for some as male topics (Norris, 1997, p. 97).
A clear example stereotypes in the media is the type of coverage that Hillary Clinton received as the First Lady. It was not unusual for the news media to criticize her for not fitting into the traditional housewife role. In addition, when Clinton was running for Senate, she was accused of taking advantage of her husband’s notability and achievements (Ryan, 2013, p. 19).
According to Norris (1997), one of the main complaints of women in politics is that the
11 media focus mainly on the struggle that female politicians confront instead of their professional accomplishments (p.138). Ryan (2013) suggests that media is more likely to present women political candidates as passive and to “focus on their positions on issues rather than the actions they have taken as candidates” (p. 15).
In addition to the stereotypes held by the media and the public, the absence of engagement and understanding of some voters make them base their opinions about the candidates only on what they hear and see in specific media outlets; however, this is not a new trend. Studies conducted in the 1950s and 1960s show that most voters were uninformed about political candidates, officeholders, and the governmental institutions. Public opinion was perfunctory and discrepant (Chong and Drukman, 2007, p. 103).
Another disadvantage that female politicians and women candidates perceive in media coverage is the constant emphasis on meaningless and inconsequential subjects like their physical appearance and attire. Representative Henry Hyde made one of the most mentioned sexist examples in a TV show called Firing Line in 1993. Hyde said, “there are some who say there are so many women now on the floor of Congress, it looks like a mall.” (Norris, 1997, p. 138).
Research has indicated that women’s professionalism is often judged on their physical appearance. The same study found that the first impressions that female politicians have on voters are more important than the candidate’s resume in the selection process (Smith et al., 2018, p.
681). “Coverage of high-level female candidates has tended to focus upon their physical appearance, clothes, and personal life, otherwise known as the ‘hair, husband, and hemline’ problem” (Hayes et al., 2014, p. 1197).
When women politicians are evaluated based on their style and not on their contributions, it minimizes their chances of being taken seriously. This scrutiny from the media, colleagues, and
12 the public often leads to congresswomen spending more time thinking about to wear and how they look. This frivolous coverage also affects where and how female candidates are covered.
Frequently, media publishes articles about women in politics in style section instead of political or business sections as they do with their male counterparts. (Dittmar et al., p. 77).
Candidates who are mainly covered by media for their appearance and personality are taken away from crucial campaign issues that would contribute to their image as a professional, accountable and experienced politician (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 3)
Research also shows that even though media coverage on personal characteristics might be the same for female and male candidates, it is more damaging for women because of this kind of attention that underrates relevant qualifications (Dunaway, Lawrence, and Weber, 2013, p. 715).
Clothing is not the only superficial attribute that the media may focus on while covering a female candidate--other frivolous attributes such as height, hair, weight, makeup, or attractiveness can be relevant to this type of coverage. Hence, this information becomes relevant for some voters who rely on simple shortcuts to make political judgments (Hayes et al., 2014, p.,1199)
Prior studies also support the theory that superficial characteristics inevitably can affect voters’ choices. The explanation for this is that most people do not have profound political involvement and heavily rely on the candidates’ brief and simplified media coverage to have political opinions on critical issues. Thus, constituencies give little credibility to candidates presented with unattractive images compared with those who are portrayed more favorably. (Hayes et al., 2014, p. 1195).
Media coverage is thought to center on the most “newsworthy” and salient people, events, and topics. Thus, reporters’ and editors’ decisions about how and when to cover local representatives may be largely based on the “news” the representative is making. Following this logic, it is possible that reports and editors may view women and minorities as simply as less newsworthy than other representatives (Gershon, 2012, p. 108).
13 Additionally, if women candidates perceive a hostility toward them from the media, they
may be discouraged from even trying to run for office, which is one of the principal contributors
to women’s underrepresentation in government (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 2). “Sociocultural
institutions such as nationalism and ethnic patronage can reinforce traditional gender roles that
counteract any formal gender equality legislation” (Haraldsson & Wangnerud, 2019, p. 527).
Hayes, Lawless, and Baitinger (2014) suggest that media coverage on the candidates’
appearance only affects the constituents when it is negative, lowering the voters’ opinions of the
candidates’ professionalism. They also propose that electors exposed to attractive images of
candidates evaluate them more satisfactorily than those presented with unflattering images (p.
1194-1195).
Previous analysis also suggests that female politicians running or holding higher positions
in the U.S. government will receive more negative and increasingly gender-biased coverage. This
phenomenon is explained by the fact that influential and powerful positions are linked with men.
“The office of President of the United States, for example, is arguably the manliest of all areas”
(Ryan, 2013, p. 14). For example, Falk and Kenski (2016) found that the belief that men are more
emotionally capable of bearing the demands of politics is strongly related to the belief that men
would also do better at handling stereotypically masculine areas such as crime and foreign affairs
(p. 414).
However, this gendered coverage on women politicians reflects what the society has established as appropriate and usual. Thus, when these norms are broken, the subjects will receive less or more negative coverage than the ones who are the traditional models (Ryan, 2013, p. 14).
Once women political candidates are elected, they face new challenges that their male
counterparts do not. Although women encounter difficulties due to the widespread stereotypes that
14 some of their colleagues might have, and due to underrepresentation, the biggest challenge they
face is to be able to get elected. Fundraising is among the main obstacles that women political
candidates must overcome to be able to be elected. Even though research has shown that female
candidates raise the same amount of money as their male counterparts in general races, women
receive less support from individual contributors. Thus, female candidates must spend more time
and effort campaigning to equal male candidates’ money. These financial challenges not only represent a disadvantage for women already running for offices, but it might prevent other women from trying to run in the first place. Many male representatives have a political heritage or have access to affluent networks, which means a natural and effortless advantage over some female candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Dittmar et al., p. 61- 62).
Dittmar, Sanbonmatsu, and Carroll (2018) suggest that “the representational style and priorities” of female politicians depend heavily, at least, partially, on their experiences outside and inside of their workplaces. Males do not share these experiences and challenges, but for other women who might or might not belong to the same political party (p. 59).
Gershon (2012) goes further in her study, suggesting that Anglo women and minority men have improved their ability to attract equal media attention, which is not the case of minority congresswomen. “It appears the combination of being woman and minority leads to coverage that tends to be more negative in tone than the coverage other members receive” (p. 117).
This biased coverage has a real impact in the election outcomes because, according to Falk and Kenski (2006), even the people who say they will not support a female presidential candidate, they would do it if that candidate matches with their ideology and their party affiliation (p. 413).
There are countless studies about how media portray women or racial and ethnic minorities.
However, most of this research ignores the combined effect that race and gender have on how
15 media depict minority female nominees (Towner & Clawson, 2016, p. 317). As a consequence of
combining the axes of identity such as race and gender, minority female politicians face a “double
barrier” while being covered by news media (Ward, 2012, p. 318).
Ward (2016) suggests that single-axis research into the race or gender has continuously
found that women and minority candidates and officials have a real disadvantage in terms of tone
of coverage. Therefore, women and minorities are conspicuous targets for the media, and they are
evaluated more harshly (p. 322).
Gershon (2012) states that female and minority candidates and officials must work harder
than other groups to attract positive media attention. Although it may seem like media have made
a considerable improvement to avoid biased coverage, numerous studies have found that media
tend to focus disproportionately on race and related issues when covering minorities (p. 107).
Gerson’s pioneering research suggest that “among House incumbents, African American women
and Latinas receive less frequent and more negative coverage than all other groups” (Ward, 2016, p. 319) Even though in the last few years, Latinas have become a prevalent theme in academic research, the literature on Chicana, Asian American, and Native American women in politics is by some means scarcer.
When an intersectional approach is applied to the study of minority women candidates and representatives, a different pattern develops that only using a single-axis method. Consequently, intersectional analysis findings reveal that the effects of race and gender alone are not unfavorable for white women and minority males. However, race and gender’s dual effect persist in being disadvantageous for minority women Ward, 2016, p. 322) like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The documented or written knowledge on the political involvement of women of color is not evenly distributed across racial groups. There has been significantly more written on the experiences of Black women within and outside the traditional modes of political expression. (Ward, 2016, p. 319-320)
16 Ward (2017) states that the negative news coverage of minority women in politics happens
not only in the U.S. but other countries like U.K. Prior to the 2010 general election in U.K, only
three black women served in the British House of Commons. However, that year seven more
women joined their ranks. Among of the new members of the parliament were the first Asian and
Muslin women (p. 44).
A substantial body of international findings shows that gendered patterns of press scrutiny are disadvantageous to women in politics. The United Kingdom is not the exception: Female PMs have long expressed concern regarding gendered media bias against them, and national newspaper coverage of the 2010 election persisted in treating women unfavorably. (Ward, 2017, p. 44)
While intersectional researchers have made notable advances in gaining a better understanding of the unique experiences and contributions of the women of color in American politics, “it would be a mistake to assume that a single-axis approach is adequate to understand media representation of white women, minority men, and indeed white men” (Ward, 2016, p. 320).
For example, Ward (2016) states that the focus of the media coverage on the 2008 U.S. general
election cycle for Hilary Clinton and Sara Palin was on gender over the candidates’ race and class
(p. 320).
Research on intersectionality has found that persons who fall into multiple demographic categories can have advantages or disadvantages because of these characteristics’ intersection. The
intersectional theory examines how race, gender, color, ethnicity, immigrant status, sexual
orientation, and class create intersecting structures of oppression (Towner & Clawson, 2016, p.
318-319).
Ward (2016) suggests that women of color, who present the “double barrier” of race and
gender, encounter more difficulties getting a positive campaign coverage than “similar candidates
from all other racial and gendered groups” (p. 337).
17 In 2009, for example, Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by
President Barack Obama; it was a historical moment because Sotomayor was the first Latina
appointed for the High Court and her nomination attracted much attention from the national media.
However, the news outlets questioned Sotomayor’s judicial temperament and almost ignored her intellectual abilities and qualifications (Towner & Clawson, 2016, p. 316).
It is a fact that intersectionality is a common approach in the studies on women in politics because of its capability of disentangling the complexity of those who are members of more than one outgroup, such as young women. The political field has traditionally dominated middle-age to
senior Caucasian men who function as gatekeepers in the government. These party elites have,
over decades, formed influential networks of control over nominations.; they act as gatekeepers
and usually support candidates and nominees “with similar characteristics of themselves.” For this reason, minority female candidates may encounter “a compounded disadvantage stemming from societal biases underpinning [both groups], when running for office” (Stockemer & Sundström,
2019, p. 374-375).
As gatekeepers, established male politicians tend to promote candidates with similar characteristics to themselves. Therefore, the processes of “old boys networks” are likely to favor the advancement of male politicians (Bjarnegård 2013), where women are seen as “outsiders.” Young candidates are likely to face the same outsider status. (Stockemer & Sundström, 2019, p. 374)
In other words, the lack of connections within the party networks prevents young candidates, female or male, for being nominated or elected; however, it is more likely that young women encounter this obstacle because of the combination of the two social characteristics (Stockemer &
Sundström, 2019, p. 374).
Consequently, the combined effect of gender and race creates unique challenges for women of color in politics. If being a female or a minority candidate or presentative along with leads to
18 adverse coverage, no one will suffer more from this type of coverage than minority congresswomen (Gershon, 2012, p. 109), the case of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
19 CHAPTER 3
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This research paper utilizes framing theory, feminist theory, and intersectional theory to examine the articles about Ocasio-Cortez in the time frame selected for this study. These theories were selected because their bases apply to what this study intends to do.
Framing Theory
The economist Albert Hirschman observed that having an opinion might be indispensable to people’s well-being. “A person should hold opinions of his own and cannot have self-respect without opinions that define and identify him.” Notwithstanding, earlier studies of mass public performed in the 1950s and 1960s found that citizens were not sufficiently knowledgeable to participate in political affairs. In general, people were unaware of American government institutions, political office holders, and contemporary political issues (Chong & Drunkman, 2007, p. 103). “The citizenry at large has not organized its politics beliefs along liberal/ conservative lines” (Nie & Andersen, 1974, p. 542). Due to this ambiguity, it is crucial to understand what framing and framing effects are and how it links politicians and other opinion leaders to the public
(Chong & Drunkman, 2007, p. 103).
We can define framing as the process of culling a few elements of perceived reality and assembling a narrative that highlights connections among them to promote a particular interpretation. Fully developed frames typically perform four functions: problem definition, causal analysis, moral judgment, and remedy promotion. Framing works to shape and alter audience members’ interpretations and preferences through priming (Entman, 2007, p. 164).
Framing theory has roots in both psychology and sociology. Framing’s psychological basis assumes that people’s choices are influenced by “identical decision-making scenarios” presented
20 in different ways. On the other hand, the sociological foundations of framing assume that people
do not have the capacity to understand and interpret their life experiences and “to make sense of
the world around them.” Consequently, people need to use interpretative schemas or “primary frameworks” in order to process new information (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007, p. 12).
Pratkanis and Aronson (1994) state that “It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is, in fact, a circle. They are mere words, and words can be [moulded] until they clothe ideas in disguise”
(Ardevol-Abreu, 2015, p. 422)
Framing theory was presented by the sociologist Erving Goffman (Norris, 1997, p. 2).
Since its introduction, framing theory has been developed rapidly in the sociology field. “Framing
has become a multidisciplinary paradigm that allows the holistic study of media effects on
individuals and audiences” (Ardevol-Abreu, 2015, p. 423). Norris (1997) suggests that framing in
media can be described as constant reasoning and interpretation of different issues, people, and
events. Therefore, the media decide how to present the information, what to emphasize, and what
to exclude; also, media determine which symbols, visual or verbal, will be delivered (p. 2).
Viewing an issue from different perspectives and interpreting it with several connotations
to have multiple values or considerations is the main framing theory principle. Framing, basically,
is the process by which people develop a specific opinion about an issue or change their opinion
about a matter (Chong & Druckman, 2007, p. 104)
Framing uses selection and prominence; in other words, framing is the conscientious
selection of some aspects “of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating
text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral
evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation” of an event (Entman, 1993, 52).
21 When applied to news Ardevol-Abreu (2015) defines framing theory as “a window whose frame limits the perception of the reality, by limiting the perception of different realities and focusing on a specific piece of it” (p. 424). Thus, the texts and images sent by the media give the audience an interpretative framework of a person or an event. Based on this definition, framing
“can be defined as a process in which some aspects of reality are selected and given greater emphasis or importance so that the problem can be determined” (Ardevol-Abreu, 2015, p. 424).
Further, “a frame in a communication organizes everyday reality by providing meaning to an unfolding strip of events and promoting particular definitions and interpretations of political issues” (Chong & Druckman, 2007, p. 106).
It can be said that frames work as “organizing principles that are socially shared and persistent” (Ardevol-Abreu, 2015, p. 425). Frames also help people to give to their social world a profound structure. In other words, frames are created and transmitted by mass media, but those frames are accepted and supported by the culture and the receivers.
According to Scheufele (1999), mass media frame the events so their readers, listeners, or viewers can understand and discuss them. However, people interpret the given information based on their preexisting meaning structures or schemas, learned from society (p. 105). Additionally,
Norris (1997) suggests that media frames are established by the dominant political culture, which defines what values and norms are acceptable within that society. Those frames are the outcome of the interaction between sources, media, and audience. As a result, those frames determine women’s role in society and the expectations of where and how women can be successful. “Media frames are persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and presentation of selection, emphasis, and exclusion, by which symbol handlers routinely organize discourse, whether verbal or visual”
(Norris, 1997, p. 2).
22 Conroy, Oliver, Breckenridge-Jackson, and Heldman (2015) suggest that another consequence of media framing based on stereotypes is women’s objectification. There is a debate around this claim since some argue that males have been objectified too. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the objectification of males and females have different effects. There have been instances when a female politician is reduced to some parts of her body. For example, a photo of Sarah Palin speaking to a large crowd was published in Newsweek magazine. The image only showed from her knees down from behind and framed the face of a young man in the audience. She was reduced to her legs and high heels, which is a clear example of women’s objectification. This kind of framing has a damaging impact on women because they are not seen as humans, but as objects
(Conroy et al., 2015, p. 4).
This incident is a clear example that although the increasing number of women in the U.S. government and the improvement in media coverage, “there remains major structural, societal and institutional barrier for women in their pursuit of all levels of office” (Ryan, 2013, p. 13).
During her first year as a congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has experienced objectification a few times not only by media but also by members of the general public. In January
2019, the right-wing news site The Daily Caller published an article and a photo claiming it was an Ocasio-Cortez “nude selfie” (Gold, 2019, para. 2). The image showed a woman’s legs and feet and the reflection of her breast in the faucet. By the time the news site posted the story, it was already confirmed that the woman was not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Daily Caller acknowledged the mistake in its story but did not change the article’s headline, which reads,
“Here’s the Photo Some People Described as a Nude Selfie of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” (Gold,
2019, para. 5-6). Some media organizations, “… give the story a ‘spin,’. . . taking into account their organizational and modality constraints, professional judgments, and certain judgments about
23 the audience” (Scheufele, 1999, p.105).
Considering that the media are crucial intermediaries between candidates and
representatives looking for election or reelection and the public (Gershon, 2012, p. 106), it is
essential to understand how framing works and its effects.
Feminist Theory
This study is also guided by feminist theory, which has been used in several previous research pieces consulted for this study. This approach is advantageous to understand the dynamics between media and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because its core concepts align with the primary purpose of this study, which is to find patterns in her media coverage.
Feminism is one of the most misinterpreted words in the English language. Reactions to this word can be since empathy, curiosity, or even anger; the reaction depends on who says it, how it is said, and what context it is used. This complexity is due to the use of stereotypes while talking about feminism or feminists. (Bromley, 2012, p. 1)
We’ve all heard the stereotypes. Feminists are angry, hairy, combat-boot wearing, bra- burning, ball-breaking, man-hating, ugly, lesbian, and/or queer. Yet, when I look in the mirror, this is not what I see. I simply see myself with all my strengths and weaknesses. (Bromley, 2012, p. 1)
To understand better this philosophy and how it will be applied to this project, it is crucial to analyze feminist theory. For centuries women have suffered from lacking the same opportunities as males. (Donovan, 1992, p. 13).
Thornham (2000) describes women’s subjugation as cultural, which is constructed by cultural text and practices. Women’s oppression is also socially supported by official institutions and political institutions because it is enforced by legislation. Osmond and Thorne (1993) suggest that feminist theory is “an analysis of women’s subordination for the purpose of figuring out how to change it” (p. 592). The feminist model is not only about women but also is about the world is
24 seen through a female perspective.
To organize feminist history and track its evolution into social, political, and economic
change for women, Householder (2015) utilizes the term “waves of feminism.” Women’s struggle
to get social and political rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is considered the
first wave. The second wave is conceived as the “women’s liberation [1960s–1980s] and sought social transformation through a critique of patriarchy, and the ethos of ‘the personal is political’”
(p. 20). During this time, feminist theoretical writing was born. Titles like Sexual Politics, The
Dialect of Sex, Woman Power, and Sisterhood is Powerful were published in the U.S. and marketed during this era (Thornham, 2000, p. 47).
The third wave’s (1990-2010) main challenge was to redefine gender, “which often assumes a universal female identity and over-emphasizes the experiences of upper-middle-class white women” (p. 21). In addition, it can be said that the main contribution of the third wave was to shed light on the systematic marginalization of minority women and lesbian and examine feminism as a white, middle class, heterosexual women’s movement (Householder, 2015).
However, the main discrepancy “within feminist theory continues between those who
assert that women are different groups with its own values and practices, and those who do not
accept this hypothesis” (Donovan, 1992, p. 187).
Therefore, feminist theory has evolved over the years and has focused more on the
differences among women. Features like race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality are now considered
while analyzing through feminist theory. (Donovan, 1992, p. 187). Thus, the feminist approach
can be used to explain the display of gendered power, illustrate how the patterns of discourse are
linked to relations of power more generally, or offer possible strategies to reduce unbalanced
power based on gender (Cuklanz, 2016, p. 1). Feminist theorists suggest that one of the main
25 reasons for several forms of gender inequality is women’s cultural devaluation that is deeply rooted
in society (p. 2).
The existing patriarchal theory has no place for women as women; at best, women can be
incorporated as a pale reflection of men. Thus, many gender-neutral laws have failed to benefit women because they neglect the contingencies of most women’s social situation (Donovan, 1993, p. 190).
Feminist communication theorists have done news analysis and found elements of
“gendered mediation, which means that news coverage is different depending on the gender of the subject” (Cuklanz, 2016, p. 3). Thornham (2000) suggests that the representation of women in mass media damages women’s self-perceptions and limit their social roles (p. 54) Researchers in this area have also found that media treat female political candidates differently than their male counterparts.
As a consequence of this difference in the coverage, female candidates’ legitimacy is damaged and questioned. Most of the time, female politicians are asked about topics non-related to policy and their personal lives; women in politics also have a very narrow rhetorical path because they are not feminine enough if they appear or sound too powerful or outspoken. On the other hand, female politicians cannot display a lot of emotions or ambiguity because if they do, they may be seen as not resilient enough for a public office (Cuklanz, 2016, p. 3). The feminist
approach helps understand and analyze how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s media coverage is
affected by her sex.
Much controversy exists around Ocasio-Cortez sexualization and objectification not only
by some media outlets but for members of the public. Even some male politicians have made some
comments of this kind. For example, some of the new congresswomen, including Ocasio- Cortez,
26 are shedding light on “what many see as a pervasive, institutionalized culture of sexism on Capitol
Hill” (Serfaty, 2019, para. 1). Some congresswomen are questioned for their wardrobe choices,
mistaken for staff members, “are being greeted with ‘hey beautiful’ by male Congress’ members,
or looked at ‘up and down’ by men in the hallways on Capitol Hill” (Serfaty, 2019, para. 2)
Ocasio-Cortez’s capability to be in Congress has also been challenged because of her ethnicity. Even President Donald Trump has expressed doubt about Ocasio-Cortez and other
female Congress members’ right to be part of the government (Yglesias, 2019). One of these
attacks to congresswomen by the president occurred in July 2019. President Trump posted a series
of tweets attacking Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna
Pressley; collectively, these women are known as the “progressive squad.” Although, the president
did not mention their names in the tweets, “Trump suggested they ‘go back’ to the crime-infested
places from which they came.” This event was one of the most mentioned by media because the
president was involved; however, it is not an isolated event. These first-time lawmakers have been criticized since they joined the 116th Congress even by their own Democratic party (Chittal, 2019, para. 1-2).
Feminist theorists describe this behavior stating that the system is designed to promote
“women’s inferior status.” In the 18th century, some writers expressed their concerns about these ideas claiming that the education system reinforced a suppressive culture where women are objectified, infantilized and confined in a “female world,” which means women are supposed to stay in their “territory” and do not intend to move to the “male world” (Thornham, 2000, p. 17).
Although Ocasio-Cortez is not the first minority congresswoman, her case is unique. She embodies what the “modern patriarchal” system is against (Denovan, 1992, p. 30). Gershon (2012) suggests
that combining these identities may lead to a significant difference between minority
27 congresswomen and other members of Congress like Caucasian congressmen and congresswomen
and even minority male members (p. 7).
Intersectionality Theory
Interdisciplinary studies on the intersections of age, gender, sexual orientation, social class,
and other social identity characteristics are not new (Alvarez, Liang & Neville, 2016, p. 31). While
intersectionality was born from the writings of women of color (Journal of Women and Social
Work, 2008, p. 5), this approach has also roots in Black feminism, feminist theory, and feminist
activism. The influence of activism on this theory was obvious during the “statement of the
Combahee River Collective, the iconic radical black feminist group active in Boston” in the mid-
1970s (Danuta-Walters, 2020, pa., 4):
We are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression, and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking. The synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives. (Danuta-Walters, 2020, pa., 4)
However, intersectionality has not only been used to study minority women but also as a tool for gender and economic disparities (Journal of Women and Social Work, 2008, p. 5). In fact, feminist and critical race theories have identified intersectionality as a study of the system of oppression and social construction of race, class, and gender (Alvarez, Liang & Neville, 2016, p.
31). Intersectionality theory finds its roots in Black feminist research, especially in the well-known work of the critical race studies scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw (Harrison, 2017, p. 1025).
One of the main principles of intersectional theory is the dogma that social identities, such as race and gender, intersect in a unique way “that each identity can only be defined through the intersection with other identities” (Harrison, 2017, p. 1024). One of the primary purposes of the intersectional is not to demonstrate how intersecting marginalized characteristics work, but it also
28 highlights how the intersection of social identities can have certain groups under political
oppression (Harrison, 2017, p. 1025).
Intersectionality is a broad field that “might become a critical social theory that keeps social
analysis and social action in play.” It is crucial not to meld the “ideal of intersectionality as a
critical theory with its current reality” (Hill-Collins, 2019, p. 3, 7, 8).
Journal of Women and Social Work (2008) suggests that the intersectional theory’s primary function is to see women as whole beings who live their womanhood differently. Many of these women must face diverse ways of social oppression, and not all women are powerless. The reality
of womanhood is so complex that it is imperative to study women as individuals who encounter
oppression in various levels and contexts. (p. 6). “What is oppression in one context may be a
privilege in another” (Journal of Women and Social Work, 2008, p. 6)
One of the tenets of intersectional theory research is that racism does not have the same
impact on minority women and white women. Consequently, it is not accurate to study “privileged
and disadvantage women” as a homogeneous group ignoring the race differences. Minority women
face the additional barrier of being discriminated against as women of color and not only as women
or people of color. Therefore, intersectionality encourages methodologies that take into
consideration how domination systems relate and affect people’s identity “and subject formation
in ways that each system of domination has an independent effect on an individual’s status”
(Server, Celis & Erzeel, 2016, p. 347).
Thus, intersectional scholars and theorists must analyze countless overlapping and
mutually reinforcing social identities that some women encounter in addition to gender. As a result
of intersectionality theory, research that focuses solely on a collective experience while studying
women has become obsolete (Journal of Women and Social Work, 2008, p. 5) because they
29 disregard intersectional identities, “leaving women of color’s experiences and voices silenced.” In
fact, Black feminist theorists condemned traditional feminist research because it “was conducted
by White women about the experiences of White women,” which left many of the members of this
social group out of the scope (Harrison, 2017, p. 1025):
From an intersectionality stance, social identities mutually constitute, reinforce, and naturalize one another. By mutually constitute, I mean that one category of identity, such as gender, takes its meaning as a category in relation to another category. By reinforce I mean that the formation and maintenance of identity categories is a dynamic process in which the individual herself or himself is actively engaged. We are not passive “recipients” of an identity position, but “practice” each aspect of identity as informed by other identities we claim. By naturalize I mean that identities in one category come to be seen as self- evident or “basic” through the lens of another category. (Harrison, 2017, p. 1025)
Currently, research on social groups’ descriptive representation (their numeric presence in political bodies) and social groups’ substantive representation (the representation of their interests) focus more on the gendered characteristics involved “in the recruitment of ethnic minority candidates.”
These studies are critical to evaluate the quality of representation that disadvantaged groups have in the government (Server, Celis & Erzeel, 2016, p. 348).
Given the prominence that intersectionality has gained not only in academia but in social activism (Danuta-Walters, 2020, p. 4), it is expected to have more female candidates, female representatives, and even more female presidential candidates who represent and focus on these social intersections. It is the case of AOC, who deals with more than one of the social characteristics that might be seen as a disadvantage not only in the political field but in any other leadership position. Therefore, intersectionality is an appropriate approach that applies to this study, which concerns the intersection of Ocasio-Cortez’s gender, age, and ethnicity.
30 CHAPTER 4
METHODOLOGY
Thematic Analysis
In order to find the answers to RQ1, RQ2, and RQ3, a qualitative thematic analysis of
articles in The New York Times and The Washington Post about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was conducted.
Thematic analysis (TA) method is one of the most popular methods in qualitative research
(Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 78). Clarke and Braun (2017) describe thematic analysis as “a method for identifying, analyzing, and interpreting patterns of meaning (themes) within qualitative data”
(p. 297). TA offers an approachable and systematic process for “generating codes and themes from qualitative data.” The small elements with interesting characteristics from the data, which are
beneficial to the research questions, are called codes. Consequently, those codes are the base
for blocks of themes (large) patterns of meaning, underpinned by a central organizing concept - a shared core idea. Themes provide a framework for organizing and reporting the researcher’s analytic observations. (Clarke & Braun, 2017, p. 297)
One of the advantages of thematic analysis is that it provides a flexible approach, which is
especially beneficial for those at the beginning of their research careers (Nowell et al., 2017, p. 2).
However, some researchers do not agree with this idea because they claim that assumptions often
limit the TA’s intellectual independence and flexibility. This claim is based on the fact that there
is not a universal definition of theme, “with conceptualizations of a theme varying widely” (Braun
& Clarke, 2016, p. 740).
While thematic analysis is flexible, this flexibility can lead to inconsistency. Consistency
and cohesion can be promoted by applying and making explicit an epistemological position that
can coherently underpin the study’s empirical claims. Consistency and cohesion can be promoted
31 by applying and making explicit an epistemological position that can coherently underpin the
study’s empirical claims (Nowell et al., 2017, p. 2).
However, Clarke and Braun (2006) suggest that TA is beneficial for analyzing different
research participants’ perspectives, finding similarities and differences, and generating unexpected
data or ideas (p. 79-80). “Themes or patterns within data can be identified in one of two primary ways in thematic analysis: in an inductive or’ bottom-up’ way, or in a theoretical or deductive or
‘top-down’ way” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 83). Thematic analysis is an interactive and contemplative method that happens over time and requires a constant moving back and forth between stages (Nowell et al., 2017, p. 4).
While there is a large body of research about female candidates and women in politics, there is almost no research on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez yet. Additionally, most of the current literature on Ocasio-Cortez focuses on her strong presence in social media, not on the impact that her gender, ethnicity, and age have on her coverage from the news media.
Procedure
For this thematic analysis, articles from The New York Times and The Washington Post were pulled from Nexis Uni databases in the University of North Texas Libraries. In total, 97 articles were identified, 72 articles from the Times, and 25 from the Post. Because the number of articles mentioning AOC’s name during the year was extremely high in both publications (1,072
from the Times and 416 from the Post), I decided to filter them, taking into account only those which had Ocasio-Cortez’s name in the headline. Some pieces were about women with
characteristics similar to Ocasio-Cortez, like being young, progressive, or first-time runners; they
used AOC’s name in the first sentence and then continued with the main subject the article. Eleven
such articles from the Times were eliminated. Another five articles were left out because they were
32 repeated. Therefore, only 53 out of the 72 articles from the Times were considered for this study.
On the other hand, using the same search term used for the Times, 183 articles were obtained from the Washington Post. However, only 25 of those pieces were about Ocasio-Cortez; the other remaining articles talked about a district called Alexandria, which included pieces about crime watch and real estate. The final sample had 78 stories.
The analyzed time frame is 12 months, from June 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. This time was purposely established to examine if there was a difference in the tone and the type of coverage that
Ocasio-Cortez received before and after she was sworn into the 116th Congress in the selected newspapers for this study. The analysis started before she won the Democratic Party’s election for
New York’s 14th congressional district on June 26, 2018, and continued through the first six months of her office term.
The publications were selected because the New York Times is Ocasio-Cortez’s hometown newspaper, and it covers the district she represents. The Washington Post was chosen because it is a major publication located in the nation’s capital, where Ocasio-Cortez serves in Congress. The two newspapers allowed me to compare articles from newspapers about the same circulation and significance.
Data Analysis
First, I looked for themes, words, and tone used in the articles. The tone was measured by analyzing if the media coverage was negative, positive, or neutral. Then, the articles were analyzed to find patterned words that the writers used to describe Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, especially words referring to her age, ethnicity, and gender; also, and adjectives describing her personality and external traits such as clothing were considered. Those themes helped me understand the tone in those articles. Examples of the patterned words identified are young, female, Hispanic/Latina,
33 and inexperienced; phrases like “the brash congressional newcomer” and “self-declared socialist” were also taken into account. I also analyzed whether the articles were policy-issue related or not.
I examined the articles online and highlighted the following categories: age, gender, ethnicity, issue, and tone (adjectives); each category was highlighted with a specific color to make the process of data collection more straightforward and accessible. After that, the articles were divided into two subgroups: 2018, before AOC was sworn into Congress; and 2019, after she started serving in Congress. These subgroups were intended to identify a significant difference in the articles written before and after Ocasio-Cortez was an official member of the 116th Congress.
There was a wide variety in the length of the articles: some were long articles, more than 2,000 words, and some of them were as short as a couple of hundred words.
However, the articles from the Times were generally longer than those from the Post: among the pieces from the New York Times were four editorial pieces, which were some of the shortest pieces, and a letter for the editor, which was about 120 words. Moreover, only a letter to the editor was among the articles from the Post. The letter was evaluated as well to analyze and compare how the public perceives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The categories were selected according to the core concepts of the theories that were used for this study.
Feminist scholars have continuously found that female candidates and female representatives are treated differently from their male counterparts and that the differences are predictable patterns that diminish the authority and credibility of female politicians. Additionally, they receive more coverage of their personal lives, including family, personal style, and clothing
(Cuklanz, 2016, p. 3). Thus, I looked for the words used to describe AOC like her age, previous jobs, or clothing choices.
34 The framing theory concepts were applied to this study, analyzing elements like the focus
of the articles and the quotes used in the pieces. This approach was to understand better how
Ocasio-Cortez is portrayed in the media. This evaluation is critical because the framing model is
based on the concept that the way the news reports approach an issue or subject has a significant
impact on how the audiences understand the subject (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007, p. 11). It is then crucial to explore how the constituents perceive AOC based on the media frames to suggest improvements.
Another relevant approach for this research paper is intersectionality. In politics, like in
many other fields, the understanding of systems of domination, such as patriarchy,
heteronormativity, colonialism, racism, and ageism is imperative to learn how these social
characteristics “interact and impact individuals’ identity and subject formation in ways that exceed the mere simultaneity of systems of domination” (Servers, Celis, & Erzeel, 2016, p. 247).
As it was previously discussed, Ocasio-Cortez is an exceptional case because she presents
several of these social characteristics that might be considered as disadvantages while holding a
leadership position. Based on these concepts, I examined how AOC was described by the media,
her colleagues, and the public. Some of the most critical patterns for this approach were the way
her age was emphasized while talking about her. Additionally, her ethnicity and gender were
mentioned countless times. Another interesting theme was the way representatives, especially
men, referred to her because of her age and inexperience in the political field. All those themes
were analyzed to find patterns in the media coverage that Ocasio-Cortez receives.
Lastly, the concept that there is a strong correlation between the issues emphasized by the
media, which can be measured by the amount of coverage, and the importance that the public gives
to those issues based on that coverage is the core concept of agenda-setting theory (Scheufele &
35 Tewksbury, 2007, p. 11). Subsequently, I looked for patterns on what was highlighted in the articles about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Based on this approach, some themes in the pieces’
emphasis were established, such as AOC’s lack of experience in the political field and her
outspoken personality.
A limitation of this study was that only text was analyzed. In a few articles, AOC images
are described because it is the central part of the piece. Another limitation of this study was the
small number of articles from the Washington Post, but it was necessary to apply the same filter
to both publications to obtain an unbiased result.
36 CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS
After analyzing the articles from both chosen publications, the New York Times and the
Washington Post, several patterns were found. To facilitate and simplify the findings’
organization, I compared the results of both publications in the following order: age, gender,
ethnicity, and tone.
Although women’s coverage has become more equitable, there is no question that traditional stereotypical frames still prevail in the way females are portrayed in the media.
Age
Age was an important characteristic that was highlighted in most articles. Through the time
frame, only 16 articles mention Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s age after the third paragraph, or they do not mention this characteristic at all. However, it was a notable difference between the
Congressional session of 2018 and the Congressional session of 2019; 9 out of the 28 pieces published in 2018 mention AOC’s youth after the third paragraph, or they do not refer to her age at all. On the other hand, 17 out of the 25 pieces published during the time frame in 2019 mention
Ocasio-Cortez’s youth after the third paragraph, or they do not mention it at all. Certainly, there is a change in the level of emphasis on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s age. It is worth to mention that
the term that was analyzed not only was the numerical symbol but also adjectives as the “youngest”
and “young.”
The following is a fragment of an article from the New York Times where the author refers
to AOC’s age in the first and second paragraph:
On the eve of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s swearing-in as the youngest woman ever elected to the House of Representatives, video footage from her college days suddenly appeared on the internet.
37 The video showed Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 29, dancing barefoot on a rooftop. If it was meant to be an embarrassing leak, it backfired badly (May, 2019, para., 1-2)
On the other hand, 10 out of the 25 articles from the Washington Post refer to her age in
the first three paragraphs. The remaining 15 pieces do not mention Ocasio-Cortez’s age. It should
be noticed that most of the articles from the Post were published in 2019. By then AOC was already
well-known, and this could be the reason why her age was not mentioned in the articles; however,
among the ten articles that mention her age, only two were produced in 2018, which seems to
follows the tendency of not focusing on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s age in this publication.
The following is an example of an article from the Post where AOC’s age was mentioned
but only in a quote. It is worth mentioning how some people, especially older men, used her age
to question her credibility or legitimacy:
The West Wing creator landed on the New York Democrat’s list when he appeared this weekend on Fareed Zakaria’s CNN show, where he talked about the Democratic Party’s future. “I really like the new crop of young people who were just elected to Congress,” Sorkin said. “They now need to stop acting like young people, okay? It’s time to do that now.” (Heil, 2019, para., 2)
Typically, age is not an important characteristic when referring to male politicians or candidates.
If it is mentioned, it usually has positive connotations. An example of this is how the BBC news
described Pete Buttigieg, a former candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 United
States presidential election:
In just a matter of a month, this 37-year-old - who would be the youngest and the first openly gay US president - has transformed himself from long-shot to legitimate contender for the White House. (Zurcher, 2019, para., 1)
In this example, not only age but Buttigieg’s sexual orientation is considered as something positive. On the contrary, youth is often a disadvantage in the case of women.
Ethnicity/Race
The next characteristic analyzed was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ethnicity; since it may
38 be considered one of the disadvantageous features for women in politics, it was essential to
examine if writers frame the articles about AOC’s ethnicity. In fact, ethnicity, along with other features like age and gender, have a significant impact on women. Researchers have expressed significant concern regarding the negative effect that intersectionality has on the news coverage of female candidates and representatives (Ward, 2017, p. 43).
After analyzing the pieces from both publications, this study found that only seven articles mention Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ethnicity in the New York Times. However, the writers used terms like “a self-described Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx” and “a native of the Bronx and a
Latina” to refer to her. However, the adjectives used to describe her are “girl” or “Latina” are not usually used to refer to any man in politics or any other field.
An interesting observation during this study is that many of the articles mention Ocasio-
Cortez’s hometown, the Bronx. Typically, if the hometown is mentioned while describing a male politician or male candidate, the ethnicity is not mentioned like the Ocasio-Cortez case. For example, Representative Joseph Crowley is described as “an incumbent congressman to win the primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District” (May, 2019, para., 5). AOC defeated
Crowley, who was “once seen as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader of the
House” (Goldmatcher & Martin, 2018, para., 1) in the November 2018’s elections.
In contrast, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is referred to using her ethnicity, heritage, and hometown “a self-described Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx” (May, 2019, para., 5) Even the nationality of her parents is used to describe AOC in the New York Times: “The daughter of a
Puerto Rican mother and a Bronx-born father” (Wang, 2018, para., 7).
At first, mentioning ethnicity and race might be seen as a frivolous characteristic. However, race has been connected to “inferiority, with immutable, biological differences,” which has a
39 permanent stigma (Hill-Collins, 2019, p. 160). As described in the intersectionality theory, these characteristics, combined with others, create a natural disadvantage for minority women representatives and candidates.
In contrast, only two articles out of the 25 from the Washington Post mention Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez’s ethnicity. Despite differences in the total number of articles from both publications in the selected time frame, there is a noticeable difference in the Times’ and the Post’s writers’ emphasis on Ocasio-Cortez’s ethnicity.
Another interesting finding is that in one of these articles Ocasio-Cortez is described not only mentioning her ethnicity but also as “a 29-year-old Latina socialist working as a bartender”
(Samuels, 2019, para., 6). This description may have an unfavorable impact on how people perceive her because of the negative perception that socialism has in the U.S. Because there is not a clear difference between socialism and communism, some people think that socialism is the lower stage of the second one (Nove, 1986, p. 2). This confusion often creates an almost instant rejection of any person or idea related to this political theory. Communism is a political and economic theory that intents “to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means of production (e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural resources of a society” (Dagger, 2019, para. 1). On the contrary, according to Gilbert and O’Neill (2019), socialism’s core principles are equality, democracy, individual freedom, self-realization, and community or solidarity. For some socialists, social freedom is not only the search for their own good but also to look for the others (p. 3).
One may say that communism is a higher and more advanced form of socialism. The confusion between both doctrines has its roots in that Karl Marx, like most writers in the 19th century, utilized the terms interchangeably. However, Marx identified two stages of communism:
40 the first is a phase in which the working class would control the government, and workers would
be paid based on their skills and the time they worked. The second phase would be “the fully
realized communism,” which has no class or government divisions; the goods are given based on
the central belief of communism: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his
needs” (Dagger, 2019, para. 2).
Gender
The next theme that was analyzed was referring to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s gender.
Keywords like woman, girl, and female were located and analyzed to find how that social trait was emphasized in those articles. The New York Times’ writers used adjectives mentioned before as an important feature to portray AOC as in the following example:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the self-described Puerto Rican “girl from the Bronx” who is set to become the youngest congresswoman in American history next month, added another layer to a complex personal story: She has Jewish heritage. (Goldmacher, 2018, para. 1)
Not only journalists refer to Ocasio-Cortez as a “girl,” but her colleagues also refer to her gender
to minimize or question her capability and credibility. An example of this is the Republican
political strategist and campaign consultant Ed Rollins. He called Ocasio-Cortez “the little girl
with a big mouth” when talking about AOC’s tax plan, in an interview with FOX (Papenfuss, 2019,
para. 1-3). This negative reference to gender is not common while describing or talking about men.
Men politicians certainly are not characterized as “little boys.”
These gendered patterns of women’s representation in the media are a clear example of
women’s “cultural devaluation” (Cuklanz, 2016, p. 2). Another reason why these comments are
visible in the media is that roughly 80 percent of news subjects and expert sources are men
(Cuklanz, 2016, p.3).
On the other hand, only one out of the 25 articles from The Washington Post refers to
41 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by her gender. Although the difference in the number of articles from both publications, there is a noticeable disparity in the way the writers frame their articles. The following is the only article from the Post, where her gender is mentioned:
Before she unseated a 10-term congressman from the Bronx, before she became the youngest woman ever elected to the House and long before she was the media obsession known simply as AOC, only one camera was trained on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez–and it belonged to Rachel Lears. (Tobias, 2019, para., 1)
Most of the time, the Washington Post’s writers refer to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a freshman, congresswoman, or newcomer instead of using her gender as a central description.
Tone
The articles’ tone was determined by the focus of the pieces and by the words that were used to described Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Most of the words used to refer to AOC in both publications are either positive or neutral. Examples of those words are “young,” “hardworking activist,” “outspoken,” and “progressive.”
However, some of the quotes or references used in the articles were negative. For example, a quote by Candace Owens, conservative commentator and activist, depicted AOC as “fiscally irresponsible.” Ocasio-Cortez has also been called “little girl” and “some young uppity” by conservative media figures Ed Rollins and Rush Limbaugh, respectively. Another example of these derogatory terms is when Claire McCaskill, a former Democratic senator from Missouri, used the terms “thing” and “a bright shiny new object” (May, 2019, para. 9). The focus of this article was to shed light on the negative comments and attitudes toward AOC. The writer remained neutral while giving those examples.
Both publications also differ in the tone of the articles. An excellent example of this was
AOC’s team story making public an erroneous fact sheet regarding the Green New Deal resolution.
Both the outlets published this story on February 11, 2019. While the Post explained why the
42 document was erroneous and presented a statement from AOC’s chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti’s social media account, the Times published some quotes from John Feehery, a Republican and former senior House aide. The statements are the following:
An early draft of a FAQ that was clearly unfinished and that does not represent the GND resolution got published to the website by mistake. -Saikat Chakrabarti
They completely screwed it up. The fact that a young freshman would make careless mistakes is not that surprising. The fact that all these presidential candidates, who are trying to distinguish themselves from the president by saying they have gravitas and credibility, would so blindly follow her is a little shocking. - John Feehery
The tone of articles was completely different because of the selection of the sources and quotes.
Those story’s elements are essential while framing a story. Framing can determine people’s attitudes toward a person or issue (Druckman, 2007, p.105). Therefore, the way journalists decide to frame stories about AOC or any other woman has a significant impact on the public and their support. The tone in the piece from the Post is more neutral and focuses on the Green New Deal’s policy. On the other hand, the tone of the article from the Times is more harmful and controversial.
Although most of the apparent references to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by the writers were presumably positive, the adjectives used to describe her and the quotes selected for the articles in both publications made a difference. For example, in the New York Times, words like “woman”
“young politician” and “Latina” are used more often than in the Post. Terms like “democratic socialist,” “representative” and “fresh congresswoman” are standard in the Post. Thus, explicitly gendered frames were emphasized more in the Times.
An interesting final thought is that the Post’s coverage was generally more positive and unbiased than the New York Times. The differences not only are in the selection of adjectives to describe Ocasio-Cortez by the writers, but also the selection of sources and quotes used in the articles.
43 CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Although news media coverage of women has improved in the last decades, the results of
this research indicate that minority women face more disadvantages and challenges regarding news
media coverage. Unquestionably, there is a negative coverage tendency in the way media depict
the main subject of this study, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because she does not conform to the
traditional, submissive role of women of color in politics or any other position of power.
Research Question 1
Is the media coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez based on personal traits such as gender, age, and ethnicity?
Ocasio-Cortez has been an obsession for the media, other representatives, and the public
before she even defeated Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, as the
representative of the 14th Congressional District on January 3, 2019 (Biography, 2019). Her
victory catapulted AOC into the public eye and made her the target for rigorous scrutiny not only
of her public life but also her previous jobs, clothing choices, college life, and even questioned her
capability to do the job as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th Congressional District.
Therefore, the following statement answers the first research question: a significant percentage of the media coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes is based on superficial characteristics such as gender, age, and ethnicity.
Like other female candidates and female representatives, Ocasio-Cortez has experienced the disadvantages of systematic discrimination by society’s patriarchal system. Although these challenging conditions are not new for any woman trying to hold a public office, AOC has faced what some scholars called “the double novelty of being a minority female candidate” (Ward, 2016, p. 320). This phenomenon happens when a person presents two or more characteristics considered
44 “disadvantages” in the political field. Although a vast number of studies about gendered
differences in media coverage among politicians exist, there are only a few that analyze the
combined effect of gender, ethnicity, and age and how these traits affect the public’s perception
and even the result of the elections.
While there was an evident disparity in the number of articles analyzed from each
publication, this research concludes that the Washington Post offered more balanced AOC
coverage than the New York Times. This finding is an interesting outcome, considering that the
Times is her home newspaper. The terms that the writers from the Post use to frame Ocasio-
Cortez’s stories were less focused on gender, ethnicity, and age than the terms that the writers from
the Times used. Although most of the articles from both publications focused on policy issues,
each article’s emphasis changed based on the quotes used to complement the piece.
A noteworthy finding is that these derogative adjectives, such as “bitch,” “fiscally
irresponsible,” and “some young uppity” among others describing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are written not only by men but also by other women, which lead to the conclusion that it is a tendency that goes beyond gender. It is also notable that women from her own political party attack AOC.
An example of this is when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called AOC’s Green New Deal, “the
Green Dream or whatever.” Pelosi also suggested that “a glass of water running as a Democrat could win in districts as liberal as hers” (Bade & DeBonis, 2019, para. 24). It was not the first time that Pelosi has made negative remarks comments about Ocasio-Cortez. In fact, the relationship between both women has been tense almost since the beginning, which is a clear example of how the double “axes of identity such as race and gender are both mutually constituted and mutually constitutive” (Ward, 2012, p. 318) and they might represent a double barrier for women of color in the political sphere.
45 Research Question 2
What frames do the media use to portray AOC?
However, not only the quotes used in the articles determine the tone of the pieces. The way the story is presented or framed is crucial. An example of the impact that framing has on how a story is presented and perceived is when AOC’s team mistakenly made public an erroneous fact sheet regarding the Green New Deal resolution. The deal calls “for a massive jobs program to stave off climate change, aiming for an enormous investment in ‘clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources’ over the next ten years” (Stein & Weigel, 2019, para. 3). The New York Times and the Washington Post published the story on their websites on February 11, 2019. While the Post’s piece explains why the document is erroneous and presents a statement by the AOC team’s chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti taken from a social media platform, the Times published some quotes from John Feehery, a Republican and former senior House aide. The statements are the following:
An early draft of a FAQ that was clearly unfinished and that does not represent the GND resolution got published to the website by mistake. -Saikat Chakrabarti
They completely screwed it up. The fact that a young freshman would make careless mistakes is not that surprising. The fact that all these presidential candidates, who are trying to distinguish themselves from the president by saying they have gravitas and credibility, would so blindly follow her is a little shocking. - John Feehery
Consequently, the following statement answers the second research question. Some news outlets use negative frames to portray Ocasio-Cortez. As it was already stated, framing influences how the audience perceives a person or an event. The tone of articles was completely different because of the way the writers frame the same story. The tone in the piece from the WaPo is more neutral and focused on the policy behind the Green New Deal. On the other hand, the tone of the article from the Times is more harmful and controversial. The news frame employed by the Times’ writer aligns with the stereotypical view of a young woman taking over leadership jobs. The fact
46 that a white man is questioning the capability of Ocasio-Cortez and magnifying a mistake made by her team just because AOC’s age is a clear example of the persistent patriarchal ideology of the
United States’ political spectrum.
This coverage may seem harmless for many people, including some commentators,
journalists, and news producers. However, when media portray female candidates or women
representatives in a passive way or focus mainly on their mistakes, they are diminishing their
abilities to their jobs.
As the feminist theory explains, our society and culture accept this type of gendered power
display by men, especially if they are white, mature, or wealthy. Feminist theory also explains why
some men infantilize women because they see them as inferior or weaker people, leading to the
cultural devaluation of women and their capabilities. These patterns in media coverage have helped
maintain the traditional and harmful stereotypes about women and their roles as leaders.
Research Question 3
Has the tone of the media coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez changed from the time she was running for office to this day?
This study found that the media coverage of AOC has not changed over time. The
publications tend to maintain the same tone and attitude toward Ocasio-Cortez over time.
According to this study, her coverage from the Washington Post has been more neutral and positive since the beginning than the New York Times coverage.
However, not only gender and age have been employed to attack Ocasio-Cortez. A
Facebook page belonging to former and current Border Patrol agents posted a photo illustration of
AOC being sexually attacked by President Donald Trump. Also, one of the group members urges
other members to throw “a burrito to these bitches” referring to Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Veronica
Escobar of Texas when they visited a Border Patrol facility outside of El Paso (Thompson & Lind,
47 2019, para. 1, 13). These xenophobic and misogynistic comments make clear that ethnicity and
gender are disadvantages in politics. However, AOC’s situation is even more evident because of
the “double barrier.” As intersectionality theory explains, female politicians and female candidates
are the targets of unusual scrutiny and questioning regarding their ability to do their job (Ward,
2017, p. 43).
Therefore, the single-axis lens traditionally employs on other research of media coverage
is not accurate enough to describe the intersectionality that represents being a woman of color such
as Ocasio-Cortez. She is also outspoken, young, and attractive, which does not conform to Latina women’s expectations in this country.
After examining the results of this study, the recommendations to improve the coverage of
Ocasio-Cortez and other female candidates and women representatives are:
(1) Interview women for political news stories. The lack of female representation is not only in the newsrooms but also as experts on politics. Although both publications selected for this research have a good number of women writing articles about Ocasio- Cortez, only a couple of experts were females. If media interview more women, it would improve the quality and the perception of female candidates and female politicians because they will bring another perspective.
(2) Improve the quality of the quotes employed in the articles to make them more balanced. The influence of media in public is unquestionable, so it should be a priority to depict candidates and representatives accurately, regardless of gender. If writers stop employing quotes where women are criticized for frivolous characteristics like their age, gender, or ethnicity, the perception of what women can do in politics and other fields will improve. If the articles are framed around policy issues, female candidates and female politicians’ credibility will increase. Consequently, it will bring women higher chances to be elected because they will be seen as capable as any other male candidate.
The news business has traditionally been a male-dominated field; this tendency has led, in some cases, into a narrow-minded industry, which is not receptive to the changes in the traditional role of women in society (Cuklanz, 2016, p. 3). However, media is only a reflection of the patriarchal system that society has accepted for centuries. Although it is a fact that there has been
48 a significant improvement in the media coverage of women of color in this country, there is a lot
more to do to reach a balanced exposure of male and female politicians and candidates.
Limitations and Future Studies
This study’s primary limitation was that it looked mainly at only two newspapers: the New
York Times and the Washington Post. These two publications were selected because of their similarities. Other online sources were also included in this research, but only briefly to illustrate a point. There is a possibility that studying different news sources, such as television and radio, may have led to different conclusions. Future research on Ocasio-Cortez could focus on whether media coverage on her has improved as more women are being elected, more gender-equal voices are being heard, and more people rely on non-traditional news channels to get informed about the candidates. Future research could also focus on how social media platforms have helped shape
AOC’s previous and future campaigns since she is highly active on the internet, particularly the
Twitter platform. Although many of the current public office holders use social media to get their message to their constituents, almost nobody in the political spectrum can equal the power of
Ocasio-Cortez online. Despite being not the politician who has more followers, AOC is highly active and outspoken on social media platforms. Her posts are from videos of her cooking to her encounters with other congress members. Actually, her social media power has been compared with President Trump’s.
Social media and digital news platforms will undoubtedly change the way people get informed about the candidates, and mainstream media will have to adapt to those new voices and expectations. Slowly but continuously, the old stereotypes about women are less accepted in these newer news channels and the public, which will lead to the end of unbalanced media coverage of women, especially of color, in the future.
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